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"Rock Island Line" is an American blues/folk song first recorded by John Lomax in 1934 as sung by inmates in an Arkansas State Prison, and later popularized by Lead Belly. Many versions have been recorded by other artists, most significantly the world-wide hit version in the mid-1950s by Lonnie Donegan. The song is ostensibly about the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. The chorus to the old song reads: The verses tell a humorous story about a train operator who smuggled pig iron through a toll gate by claiming all he had on board was livestock. ==History== The earliest known version of "Rock Island Line" was written in 1929 by Clarence Wilson, a member of the Rock Island Colored Booster Quartet, a singing group made up of employees of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad at the Biddle Shops freight yard in Little Rock, Arkansas. The lyrics to this version are largely different to the version that later evolved and became famous, with verses describing people and activities associated with the yard. The first audio recording of the song was made by John A. Lomax at the state prison in Tucker, Arkansas on 29 September 1934. Lead Belly accompanied Lomax to the prison. This version retains some lyrical features of the 1929 version, but also features key elements of the "classic" version. A similar version was recorded by Lomax in October 1934 at Cummins Prison Farm in Lincoln County, Arkansas, performed by a group of singers led by Kelly Pace. In 1964, ''The Penguin Book Of American Folk Songs'', compiled and with notes by Alan Lomax, was published. It includes "Rock Island Line" with the following footnote: John A. Lomax recorded this song at the Cumins State Prison farm, Gould, Arkansas, in 1934 from its convict composer, Kelly Pace. The Negro singer, Lead Belly, heard it, rearranged it in his own style, and made commercial phonograph recordings of it in the 1940s. One of these recordings was studied and imitated phrase by phrase, by a young English singer of American folk songs (to Lonnie Donegan ), who subsequently recorded it for an English company. The record sold in the hundreds of thousands in the U.S. and England, and this Arkansas Negro convict song, as adapted by Leadbelly, was published as a personal copyright, words and music, by someone whose contact with the Rock Island Line was entirely through the grooves of a phonograph record. According to Harry Lewman Music, Lonnie Donegan's recording, released as a single in late 1955, signalled the start of the UK "skiffle" craze. This recording featured Donegan, Chris Barber on double bass and washboard player (Beryl Bryden), but as it was part of a Chris Barber's Jazz Band session for Decca Records, Donegan received no royalties from Decca for record sales, beyond his original session fee. Pete Seeger recorded a version a cappella while he was chopping wood, to demonstrate its origins.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Rock Island Line」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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